December Friday Retreat Style. . .

After a long week [the final week of classes this semester/term] of responding to last minute, panicked student emails -- Almost always, they create their own problems. -- and committee meetings of one kind or another, it is finally Friday with a relatively easy day ahead. I have a midday lunch retreat with program colleagues, which I am looking forward to. These are always fairly informal, fun discussions with a pleasant group of interesting people and personalities from around the world. So why not don a bit of celebratory dress for the occasion?

The only "new" item here is a vintage silk bow tie from J. Press -- in seasonally appropriate colors -- that is seeing its inaugural wearing today. Managed to nail tying it on the first try this morning, so it has only taken about a dozen attempts in the last 12 months to learn. As I mentioned in an earlier post this month, I do not plan to go full bow tie on everyone, but now and again, these items are a neat way to shake up the usual mix.

The socks are a bit much with this particular combination, admittedly, but I could not manage to dig out some plain navy or dark green from the related dresser drawer in the early morning light, and grabbed these instead. Let's just say that it is always good to include one item that doesn't quite work with everything else to avoid an overly studied appearance.

The Optimo 'Dearborn' fedora garnered a compliment and smile from a female passerby on my walk from the parking lot into the library cafe this morning, which was a pleasant start to the day. Two other favorable comments followed later in the day about the bow tie and overall appearance respectively. Never necessary, as I say, but compliments are always nice to hear from people who notice.

On a related note, my wife, The Grand Duchess, once lobbed the epithet 'eccentric' at me during a lighthearted conversation several years ago. After laughing for a minute, or two, I replied,

"Me? Eccentric? How am I eccentric?" Her retort was priceless.

"How are you NOT eccentric?" She then proceeded to enumerate in great detail about a dozen habits, interests, and hobbies that, I guess upon reflection, plant me squarely in the neighborhood of terminal eccentricity. Funny. It never occurred to me.

In my wife's view, how I dress looms large in all of this. But as I occasionally point out, with tongue firmly in cheek,

"You didn't HAVE to marry me! We could still call Judge F. [the man who married us] to decertify everything." Laughter and eye rolling all around.

Following The Young Master's bedtime, we will open a bottle of wine and enjoy it by the fireside this evening, possibly across the Scrabble board, and to the tune of soft Christmas jazz, or German language carols. Happy Friday, everyone!

-- Heinz-Ulrich

J. Press Goodness. . .

F resh out of the UPS box, three examples of J. Press goodness on a Friday morning. These shirts are replacements for three recently worn-through, more than 20-year old OCBDs from Land's End (two) and L.L. Bean (one). They were purchased shortly after I took my first teaching position at a now defunct local college outside of Minneapolis, immediately following graduate school, as the fall semester kicked off in September 2003. While some professional gear hung in my closet already, a few additional items were needed at that point to round out the weekly rotation. Said shirts all finally fell prey to small rips showing up in the now very thin, but incredibly comfortable, fabric within six weeks of each other this winter and early spring. So, time for a few replacements. The old friends will find new life as summertime lawncare shirts. Of the three new items above, my favorite shirt is on the right, but one cannot go wrong with a light blue OCBD either, so we're in good

Time for the Ol' Switcheroo?

W ell, here we are approaching mid-April. And it might just be about time to swap the cool and cold weather attire for warmer weather gear this coming weekend. Mid-70s Fahrenheit yesterday, and low 70s today. Cooler after that later in the week, but I can probably stow the heavier wool items and cords in the cedar closet and safely bring out the warm weather suits, odd jackets, and pants until the fall. Still time of one last hurrah today however. Cooler enough this morning for a tan pair of cords paired with that recently arrived J. Press jacket. The latter is light enough, although it is wool, that I might just keep it handy since we can certainly have chilly days in May and June. While classes end on the April 19th this year, I'll still be on campus occasionally into June, so it's not exactly time for khaki shorts, Madras, seersucker and short-sleeved polo shirts just yet. There's also conference coming up in New Orleans at the start of June, so still some oppor

Job Talk #3. . .

C andidate #3 is, for my money, the person for the job. Considerable experience, broad perspective, well-connected throughout the college and university due to an array of collaborative pursuits of one kind or another, coherent and detailed vision laid out for the next three years and beyond. Yes. I am not on the committee that makes the recommendation to the dean, who will make the final decision and send the letter, but, were it up to yours truly, this is the guy. And he wore an actual suit (mid-gray), dress shoes, white shirt, and necktie as an added plus. 20 years or so my junior, but someone gets it. -- Heinz-Ulrich

Classic Style

Search This Blog